Tootling along today on a nice xc ride, taking in lots of unmettalled roads, old county roads, and generally lesser known bridleways.
I got to thinking that come the revolution (or post-brexit apocalypse) mtbers will be uniquely equipped to act as a guerrilla force.
Able to get from a to b by lesser known routes, no need for petrol, avoiding marauding bands of zombie-farages.
I then got to thinking about solutions for dog walkers who don't pick up their dog's shite. But it's dinner time, so I'll leave that for later 🤢
I take it you saw train to busan last night on film4.
Or I want what you’re on please Tom 😝
OP.
You need to ride more techy trails...
The road not travelled.
what if I crash and there is no-one there to help me, although that did happen to me
Time and place, time and place......there's a pleasure to be had from a gentle pootle along some lesser known byways, especially in Devon. Lots of sunken lanes, and some of them have some vaguely techy offshoots too 😉
mtbers will be uniquely equipped to act as a guerrilla force
Too many factions, would never even agree on standard uniform for a start.
True. I'm not working with those little wheelers.
I reckon bikes would be pretty good in a zombie apocalypse.
No metal around you for protection but no tedious checking around for cars with a good battery/fuel either.
I reckon e-bikes will be rubbish though as they won't build up your cardio enough to out run the horde. Charging will be an issue too. 😉
26ers will also get you killed as you can't get the parts for them and they are rubbish at rolling over dead bodies.
29+ tubeless FTW. Crushes zombie skulls with consomethinge ease.
some of them have some vaguely techy offshoots too
You should ride more of them.
Might take your mind off stuff...
Yeah. Thinking isn't gnarr. Stoked or not stoked should be the limit of your mental activity.
Me, I mostly think about what I'm going to eat when I finish riding. Makes me ride quicker.
What's wrong with a bit of anti-gnarr? Obsessed by<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;"> speed you lot are 😘</span>
Some of my best/weirdest/most insightful thinking takes place on the bike.
Anyway, I wasn't hanging around too much. 32 miles, 1200m of climbing, 3 1/2 hours on the single speed. Just like thinking when I'm riding too.
I have written the first chapters of several books in my head.
Come the zombies it will be the ebike riders eaten first as their bikes will run out of o and they'll be too fat to escape and fat enough to be tasty.
Generally I think about how unfit I am.
I think about being chased by a panther (not pink thou)on one section for some reason.
On my MTB I rarely think about anything. I love it.
However, one pervasive thought I’ve been having as I ride to work: commuting by bike is basically like a powerful skill gained in an RPG. Most people can’t / won’t / don’t bother achieving it since it takes years of grinding to get there. But once unlocked, it’s a faster cheaper way to get around. Obviously that sounds horrifically smug.
I can break wind without worrying about downstream complaints 😆
^^
oooh I like that 🙂
Obvs the one above northern souls gem , breaking wind on a rides a bit like Russian roulette.
Shart Bait.
On my MTB I rarely think about anything. I love it.
This.
Left? right?pop off the root?gap the two large rocks?tight? wide?can I get over that fallen tree?can i brake less? can i get smoother?
These are the things that I think about on a ride.
It's even better when I don't even have to think about them as they just happen.
1200 meters in 32 miles. You riding round the hills not up and down them...
I have thought the zombie apocalypse through in some detail. In every scenario I'd be dead quickly.
I used to think about how MTBing in "the book of Ely" type scenarios would ensure my survival but a) snipers and b) any one of a thousand other reasons.
SStu in hardcore hero mode shocker 😉
Since reading the Jurassic Park books 3 years ago, I think a lot about a juvenile T. Rex hiding in the dusk, practicing hunting!
Not wild boars, psychopaths with long knives, escaped dangerous animals. No I am concerned about an animal that has been dead for 10s of millions of years!
Why would anyone want to survive an end of the world as we know type apocalypse? **** that misery, take me out early on please.
So it seems we're split into 2 camps....
Those who like to ponder life's little mysteries on a ride, and those who just react to external stimuli and shut off their brains for the duration.
TBF, if I'm on a group ride I tend to be more of the second, but when I'm on my own my mind does wander a bit.
Why would anyone want to survive an end of the world as we know type apocalypse?
Duty to repopulate the planet and keep the species going. Next question.
I think about being chased by a panther (not pink thou)on one section for some reason.
One day, I’ll be there.......waiting
My mortality and the meaning of it all
Boz.
Not at all .
One mans hardcore is another mans mincing.
It's all relative.
I'm just more a fan of trying to make stuff feel better on a ride.
To [b]me[/b] nothing feels better than a clean run through something.
If I then see someone else smash it I'll try and learn from them.
All this wandering about shit is what roadys do to relieve the boredom isn't it.😉
Left? right?pop off the root?gap the two large rocks?tight? wide?
We're still talking about farting techniques, no?
martin.
Is your safety switch not working as it should. 😳
I think about pedaling like Chris Froome uphill and which way the wind is blowing for an easy ride.
Generally I think about how unfit I am
that and a cafe stop and a beer reward
Mid night ride I like to turn the lights off on one of my stops in the middle of the woods. Last time I did this, I thought 'what if I turn my light back on and there is a creepy child standing in front of me'. I did not want to turn the light back on...shortly after there were a few foxes screaming which didn't help. I rode quite fast the rest of my ride. Stupid imagination.
Remember this little ditty
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain
I've managed to have the battery pack drop off on night rides which is a bit exciting.
Meh Velcro...
It’s quite common for me to ponder whether I’ve bitten off more than I can chew when I’m about 60k’s from home with lots of big hills to ride over. Planning what I’m going to eat to. Also wonder why people pass so close to me on a big road with no oncoming traffic.
When its going easily, I look around and smile, the brain has switched off from work and I think about the other things that actually matter, like the things I want to learn and make. When its not easy, all I can hear and feel in my heartrate and breathing, usually as I'm chewing the stem, cursing having a BPM screen on the Garmin.
The zombie Apocalypse / end of the world scenario can go whistle. I have a flat that's an armory, most of my ammo is reusable (archery), and a modest collection of axes and knives, bring it on!
On night rides, I usually have Iron Maiden's Fear of the Dark as an ear worm, I don't know why, and I know the area well, so am not scared. My biggest fear is hitting a new rabbit hole that wasn't there last time I rode the track and damaging the bike!